Convert from Hinduism Who Grew Up in Quiet Suburb

Convert from Hinduism Who Grew Up in Quiet Suburb

Article excerpt

DHIREN BAROT was brought up as a Hindu in a north-west London suburb before converting to Islam.

Born in India in December 1971, he came to Britain with his parents a year later.

His parents settled in Kingsbury, and Barot, 34, attended Kingsbury High School where he obtained some GCSEs. After leaving school in 1988 he obtained a City and Guilds qualification in tourism, Woolwich Crown Court heard.

Edmund Lawson QC, prosecuting, said: "There is only one substantial period of employment, which appears to have been when he worked from 1991 to 1995 as an airline ticket clerk in Piccadilly.

"Latterly, he requested a transfer to Heathrow, but his application failed."

The court heard how Barot had converted to Islam in around 1992, when he was in his early twenties.

He began reading Islamic literature and attended lectures to learn how to "lead a good and devout Muslim life".

As time went on the meetings he attended became "more extreme, more radical," Mr Lawson said.

In September 1995, Barot told his employers that he was going on a "long overseas trip".

Mr Lawson said: "Investigations reveal that he went for a long training session at a terrorist training camp in Pakistan. …